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Emu
ADDON. Version 1.1.0. Released on 2019-02-23. Provides 31 components. Created by Emil Poulsen. Features 0 video tutorials.
Emu is an interactive structural analysis and form-finding tool based on a 6DOF (6 degrees of freedom) formulation of the dynamic relaxation method allowing engineers and designers to run bi-axial bending and torsion simulations. It is aimed to be used in early design stages but yet giving real structural feedback. Emu was developed as part of a Master's thesis in Structural Engineering and Building Technology at Chalmers University of Technology, with the aim of simulating the very non-linear process of elastic gridshell erection.
Analysis
| Element Index Selector (ElementIndexSelector) Retrieve element indices by filtering based on material, section and group. | |
| Element Force Viewer (ElemForceView) Ouput the internal forces and moments of elements | |
| Diagram Viewer (DiagramViewer) Show force diagrams on elements. | |
| Results On Mesh Viz (MeshViz) Visualize structural data on a beam mesh. | |
| Centerline Viewer (CLineView) View the centerline geometry. Plug your relax output into this component to see the geometry for each iteration. | |
| Reaction Forces (ReactForce) View the reaction forces in of model | |
| Node Forces (NodeForce) Extract the internal forces and moments of the nodes | |
| Section Viewer (SectionView) Visualize the extruded sections of the members in the model represented as meshes. The sections will correspond to what's been defined for each element. |
Element
| Spring Create a 6 DOF spring element. The spring can be used for geometrical form-finding, when structural quantaties (such as forces and moments) are not important. | |
| Cable Create a 6 DOF cable element. Cables are capable of transferring tension, but not compression. | |
| Model Defines a Structural model. Assemble all elements, loads, restraints, materials and cross sections using this component. | |
| Beam Create a 12 DOF Beam element from a line, material and cross section. By default a steel material and a circular section is assigned to the beam. | |
| Bar Create a 6 DOF bar/truss element. No bending will occur in the elment, only axial force. In other words, the end nodes are only capable of transferring force, no moments. | |
| Restraint Restrain a node's degrees of freedom | |
| Lath Defines a continous grid-shell lath element |
Section
| Solid Box Section (SolidBoxSection) Create a solid box section by providing a height and width. | |
| Generic Section (GenericSection) Create a generic cross section by providing numerical data. | |
| Circular Section (CircularSection) Create a Circular Hollow Section (CHS) based on a radius and a thickness. | |
| IShape Section (IShapeSection) Create an I Shape section by providing overall depth, overall width, top flange depth, web width, bottom flange width, and bottom flange depth | |
| Hollow Box Section (HollowBox) Create a Hollow Box Section by providing height, width and thickness. |
Load
| Linear Load (LinearLoad) Define a load per length unit [N/m]. Note that the line has to coincide with an existing linear element in the model. | |
| Point Load (PointLoad) Define a point load with a force vector [N] and a anchor point. | |
| Area Load (AreaLoad) Define an area load by a force vector [N/m2] and a mesh. Note that the all vertices of the mesh have to coincide with nodes in the model. | |
| Gravity Load (GravityLoad) Apply gravity load on a structure. The dead load of an element is calculated using information such as material density, the cross section applied and the geomety. |
Solvers
| Dynamic Relaxation Properties (DrProp) Properties to manually set the options for the Dynamic Relaxation solver. | |
| Matrix Stiffness Solver (MatrixStiffnessSolver) Solves the static equilibrium state of a Model. The underlying algorithm is based on solving the system of linear system of equations Ka=f. | |
| Dynamic Relaxation Solver (DrSolver) Solver using the Dynamic Relaxation method to find the equilibrium state of a model through time stepping. Connect the timer to this component to animate the process. |
Misc
| Mesh Vextex Normals (MeshVertexNormals) Computes the vertex normals of a mesh. This is done by averaging the surrounding face normals around a vertex. | |
| PluginInfo Gets information about the plugin |
Material
| Custom Material (CustomMaterial) Create a custom isotropic homogenious material | |
| Material Database (Mat DB) Material Database. |
Site design © Robin Rodricks.
Site co-created by Andrew Heumann.
Emu and associated data © 2025 Emil Poulsen.
Rhinoceros and Grasshopper are registered trademarks of Robert McNeel & Associates.
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